Asking and answering questions about Braves Acuña, Kimbrel and Baldwin

Can we expect any of these?

Let’s dive in.

When could Ronald Acuña Jr. return?

The fact the 2023 National League MVP is in Louisville with the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers means it is at least a couple of days away and maybe more. The Stripers were to start a six-game series against the Bats on Tuesday. It’s likely Acuña wouldn’t go there to play only one game.

Further, the team is not rushing his return from a torn ACL. Last week, after one game for the Braves’ Florida Complex League team, Acuña played six innings in right field Thursday and Friday at Gwinnett, was DH on Saturday and didn’t play Sunday, which was followed by an off day Monday.

Acuña’s next step would be to get to seven innings and see how he responds. The Braves presumably aren’t going to bring him back if playing seven innings back to back leaves him with sore legs, as they’re going to need him to play full games at full tilt and as much as possible once he returns. So a lot will depend on how Acuña feels as his load increases.

If he handles it well and attempts to steal a base or two — something he had yet to do in his first four rehab games — or otherwise shows full explosiveness on the basepaths, that would push him forward. If his legs don’t respond well to the increase, it would take longer.

The home weekend series that begins Friday against the Padres would seem a possibility. The three-game road series against the Phillies starting Tuesday of next week might be a safer choice.

Ultimately, he has 20 days to complete his rehab assignment, and his clock started May 13. But it would be a surprise if it went long into next week.

When will the Braves call up reliever Craig Kimbrel?

Signed to a minor-league deal March 18, the nine-time All-Star and former Braves closer of note essentially has completed his own spring training, first with Double-A Columbus and now with Gwinnett.

In 10 appearances covering 9⅔ innings with Gwinnett through this past weekend, Kimbrel has a 1.86 ERA with a 9/5 strikeout/walk ratio and a 1.14 WHIP. Notably, he had one-inning relief appearances on back-to-back days Friday and Saturday, allowing no runs while giving up one hit (a single) with three strikeouts against no walks.

Impressive, but is he ready enough to compel president of baseball operations and general manager Alex Anthopoulos to bring him up and cast off a member of the existing bullpen?

Kimbrel may not be quite there yet.

Consider this: Last year with the Orioles, 108 of his 963 pitches were clocked at 95.0 mph or above, including 12 at 96.0 or higher, according to Statcast.

Compare that with his velocity with Gwinnett. Of his 138 pitches through this weekend, only two reached 95.0, one fastball at 95.0 and the other at 95.4. Both were thrown Saturday.

Far more goes into a pitcher’s performance than fastball velocity. Still, Kimbrel’s fastball (his most-thrown pitch) had more pop a year ago than he’s shown this season, and even that level of performance contributed to a 5.33 ERA in 52⅓ innings that led to his release near the end of the season.

Perhaps tellingly, Kimbrel threw only two pitches of 95.0 mph or more in his final 11 appearances with the Orioles, when his ERA was 13.94.

Thus far, Kimbrel’s velocity is improving. He has gone from 91-92 mph in his first appearance with Gwinnett on April 23 to consistently throwing 94 mph Saturday.

But his velocity from 2024 would suggest that, despite his encouraging performance thus far in Gwinnett, the Braves might want to see more from Kimbrel before calling him up.

It figures to happen eventually, but maybe not as quickly as Braves fans might want.

When will Drake Baldwin play more?

Here’s a statistic that speaks to the rarity of catcher Drake Baldwin’s hot start as a rookie. Through Sunday, Baldwin was hitting .357 with five home runs and a .983 OPS in 29 games.

Dating to 2010, only five other players have hit at least .350 with five home runs and a .975 OPS in their first 29 major league games, according to Stathead. Interestingly, it is not an illustrious quintet. The five players have made a total of four All-Star games, and two haven’t made any.

Regardless, Baldwin’s play has prompted a fan response for him to play more, possibly in left field. That will not be happening, as Baldwin has not trained to play there.

But this might be worth considering — is it possible that Baldwin has had such an extraordinary start at least in part because his workload is lighter and because the Braves are being mindful of which pitchers he hits against?

Granted, Baldwin hitting .357 against a collection of the worst pitchers in MLB would still be impressive.

But it’s possible, maybe even likely, the Braves would see diminishing returns from Baldwin if his playing time were to markedly increase. As he learns to play catcher and to hit at the major league level, spoon-feeding him and allowing him to learn from starter Sean Murphy has some wisdom.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct the spelling of Craig Kimbrel